Changing Fates
by chrocaro
Summary: Trunks in his old age travels to the past to Train Gohan to defeat the androids to be the hero of his own time. During a battle Gohan saves the life of someone who will be very special to him, and possibly his reason to win the battes ahead.
1. Travel

Chap. 1

West City lies in ruins. Only a few buildings are left standing. Most of it is in shambles and the small amount of remaining people lie in hiding. They cower from the evil that has taken everything form them. The evil of two androids. A man and a woman by the numbers 17 and 18. These two for the last three years have single handedly destroyed one city after another. Taking down any force that stands against them… Even the Z warriors. Krillin, Tien, Vegeta, Yamcha, and even Piccolo were defeated.

One warrior has survived, but not to his pleasure. The boy, Gohan, has fought hard over the years, but for each tier of power he reaches the androids knock him down a peg. Today is not any different. In super Saiyan form, Gohan is pushed back by the woman, Eighteen. She has been keeping him on his toes as she hits his defenses with bone crushing blows upon bone crushing blows. The man, Seventeen, sits atop rubble and watches as if he was bored.

Gohan is barely able to stand, his hair flickers, his eyes blurry, but he refuses to let up. 18 fixes her hair as she crosses her arms. "You know kid, there's no shame in giving up you know."

Gohan, through blurred vision and bloodied teeth, replies with fire, "Never… I'll never give up…"

18 chuckles at him, "How cute." With lightning quick speeds she plants a hard fist into his solar plexus, lifting his breathless form into the air.

Gohan gasps and time seems to slow. He leaves 18's fist as he raises slightly into the air. He looks up and his face is met with a powerful kick that sends him flying through the air and into one of the last standing buildings. The building crumbles and Gohan lands in a crater of debris.

His breaths are labored and heavy. His body is bruised and broken. His pride shattered he fights back tears as the androids land in front of him. It starts to rain. Lightning and Thunder crawl through the sky as 17 slowly walks over to Gohan.

Gohan struggles to do something, but is too broken to do anything. His light fades, as he reverts back. 17 gets to him and crouches low. With a gentle gesture 17 turns Gohan over to face him. Gohan begins to lose consciousness, but 17 keeps him awake.

"Oh hey, hey, hey… Don't die on us now. We aren't done with you." 17 said cruelly, as if it were just a game.

Gohan begins to breakdown, "Why… Why don't you just… Just kill me…"

17 and 18 both chuckle, "Oh you small, simple child. You see… You're too much fun for us. I mean, you're not the strongest thing in the world, but you're more durable than these humans. But I guess that's just your Saiyan blood. Too bad your daddy died before we got to fight him. But we'll settle for you."

"Especially since we made the mistake of killing all of your friends." 18 chimed in.

17 nodded as he looked back at Gohan. "So in closing… We'll see you in six weeks. Heal up good for us." 17 said as he stood up from his position. He walked back over to 18, "Come on sis. I think it's time we retreat for the evening. Maybe we'll find a volcano to set off."

17 took to the sky. 18 looked back at Gohan once more. He stared at her with a hatred, and she could almost feel his burn. She left and Gohan was once again alone in the cold rain that felt good on his busted body. His tears disguised by the rain as he let loose. He kept himself awake, his anger flowing through him. He gritted his bloodied teeth and roared into the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed around him. He finished roaring and passed out.

Everything went silent. Gohan blacked out.

The rain had let up. The sun shined through the clouds and a burst of light appeared. From the light a peculiar looking device formed. A tall yellow device, with a giant black 3 on its side, and a glass bubble on the top. From this device an elderly gentleman floated out. His hair was long and white with a light tint of lavender to it. His beard was the same, and he had a cane with him. His clothes were white and resembled that of Saiyan armor, but with loose sleeves and a Jedi like skirt.

The man looked around the area. His voice was gruff as he spoke to himself, "Well Trunks… Here we go again… For the last time." He closed his eyes and stayed still. His eyes opened wide, "Gohan."

Trunks collapsed his machine and takes to the sky. He flies quite quickly into the ruined city. Searching for Gohan he lands where Gohans crushed body lies. Trunks leaned down and places a hand on Gohans chest.

Gohans heartbeat is slow, and his breaths light. "This is not good. This should help." Trunks transferred some power into Gohans body.

Gohan regains consciousness, though not by much. He looks at the old man, "Who are you?"

"That's not important right now. What is, is that we get you to safety. I've given you some energy to keep you alive." Trunks informed Gohan.

Gohan just nods as he passes out. Trunks lifted Gohan from the crater and looked around. "I am… Midtown." He says to himself, figuring out where he was. Taking flight, Trunks moves Gohan to safety.

A few hours pass, the sounds of the storms lie in the distance. Gohan awakens in the dark of a ruined building. His head and body throb in pain. The clanging of what sounds like a spoon in a pot attracts his attention as he slowly turns his head.

The old man who rescued him was cooking something on what seemed like a stove. Confused Gohan looks around the room, trying to figure out where exactly he was. "We are in the old Capsule Corp building. Do not worry, the owners have not lived here for some time, and it's no target to the androids." Trunks informed.

Gohan slowly got up from the bed he was laying on. Gripping his ribs he slowly makes his way to Trunks. "How did you know about this place? Who are you?" Gohan asked finding a spot to sit.

Trunks looked at Gohan and chuckled, "Everyone knows about the great Capsule Corp. It's not like it's a secret. As for who I am… Well you can call me Trunkten." Trunks extended his hand.

Gohan looked at the old mans face. It rang a bell of familiarity to him, but it did not seem mistrusting. Gohan smiled and shook Trunks's hand. "Gohan. My name is Son Gohan."

Trunks smiled, "Pleasure. Now, you've been badly damaged and need to eat. I can only imagine the hunger you are facing."

Gohan gave a pained chuckle, "I doubt that very much."

"Oh?" Trunks asked. "How so?"

"You see… I'm not actually a human. I come from a alien race of fighters known as the-"

"Saiyans. Oh yes, I know." Trunks butted in.

Gohan looked stunned, "But… How could you-"

"Gohan, in all your years of life, how do you think someone would know? What types of people know about Saiyans?" Trunks asked.

"Well those who are Saiyans, and those who are relatively close to Saiyans." Gohan answered.

"So which one am I?" Trunks asked.

Gohan studied Trunks and sensed for his power level. His eyes widened slightly at what he felt. "Your power… It's enormous. You're a Saiyan?"

Trunks smirked, "I am. Well…"

Gohan, "Well what?"

Trunks shook his head, "That's an answer for another day. Come now eat. We have work to do starting tomorrow."

"What kind of work?" Gohan asked as he was handed a dish.

"Work to destroy the androids of course." Trunks replied.

Gohan nearly spat out the food in his mouth, "How? I'm too busted up and will not be ready for like six weeks."

"With these." Trunks pulled a bag from his shirt and shook it. The contents of the bag rattled and Gohans eye lit up.

"Senzus?" Gohan asked trying to contain his excitement.

"Yes. Senzu." Trunks smiled. Gohan tried to take the bag, but Trunks pulled away. "Not yet. You haven't eaten in a long time, and I doubt have had very much rest. So eat, and sleep. Tomorrow morning you can have one."

Gohan was feeling frustrated, "That makes no sense! If you give me one now we can take the androids by surprise and end this nightmare!"

Trunks shook his head, "It's not that simple. By that logic you assume that surprise will kill the androids. This is not true. Trust me."

Gohan was even more frustrated, "Trust you!? I don't even know you! You gave me your name, you're obviously a Saiyan, and you know how to defeat the androids! None of those have any clear definition to them… minus your name. How do you know the androids? Are you from Vegeta? Or are you a half-breed like me?"

Trunks chuckled, "I'll answer those questions in due time my young friend. But for now you must trust my judgment and relax. We have quite a long bit of time ahead of us."

Gohan opened his mouth to speak, but the searing pain from being angry cause him to sit back down and eat. Soon after they ate Trunks and Gohan went to sleep. And though Gohan hated to do so, he slept comfortably for the first time in a little over a year.

The sun of the next morning flooded the room in which Gohan and Trunks slept. The warmth hit Trunks first waking him up. He got up slowly, put back on his white armor and woke up Gohan. His first mistake was letting the teenage boy sleep. His second was poking him with his cane.

Gohan reacting to the threat immediately transformed into Super Saiyan and flung himself at Trunks. Trunks masterfully dodged and let Gohan crash into a wall. Gohan knew that exerting himself was a bad idea, and transforming was even worse, but he believed to be in danger.

Trunks walked over the debris and stood over Gohan. "Are we finished?"

Gohan looked at him, "Sorry Trunkten… I am not used to having a wake up call."

Trunks smiled, "Well here, take this and heal up. We have work to do." Trunks said as he handed Gohan a senzu bean. The boy ate it up, and with a few pops and an incredible sigh of relief Gohan felt like never before.

"This is wonderful! I feel as supercharged as ever! Ha ha!" Gohan did a backflip into the air.

"Yes, I'm sure you do. Now come. We need an open area to train in." Trunks said leading the way out.

So I hope you guys like this story. I have some great ideas on how to continue it. But yeah. I hope it's enjoyable to all of you readers out there.


	2. Guts

Chapter 2

As Gohan and Trunks leave the abandoned dome, Gohan looks around at the ruined city. He stops in his tracks. Trunks looks back at the boy. Gohans eyes are trickling tears.

"What's wrong?" Trunks asked, though he knew he didn't have to.

"All this. In the last 3 years… This. The androids. The destruction… If only my father were alive." Gohan wiped his face. "But he's not. It's up to me."

Trunks nodded, "Your father was a great man, I'm sure. I promise you'll be as great as he was." Trunks reassured as he pressed forward.

Gohan was more confused than ever. This strange old man who came out of nowhere now seems to know of Goku. Gohan wanted so bad to call him out. But now was not the time. If the old Saiyan could teach him what he needed he would take it with no complaint.

Trunks stopped at the rusted old gate, "Before we find our field, there's someone we need to see. Come now, follow me."

Trunks took to the sky quite quickly. Gohan found himself trying to keep up. '_This old man is fast.'_ Gohan thought to himself.

In a matter of a few hours they came across a familiar white pillar. Gohan and Trunks stopped in the air.

"Why are we stopping here?" Gohan asked.

"We are going to see an old friend." Trunks replied as he went straight up. Gohan once again found himself struggling to keep up to the old man. And soon after they landed on a balcony. It was old. It looked dirtier than Gohan remembered.

"Korins… I remember the old cat. I wonder if-" Gohan was cut off.

"Hey! Who you calling old?" A voice sprang from the shadows.

Gohan turned in surprise. After all the cat had a low power level. Trunks on the other hand slowly turned around and looked at Korin.

"I recognize one of you the other…" Korin studied Trunks. "Your eyes. I know your eyes. But… their color is different. Only one other Saiyan I knew had those prideful eyes. Too bad you're extremely old to be his kin." Korin walked off catching Trunks off guard. "Or maybe you're old enough to be his kin. I don't know. Anyways, what do you want. There's nothing here anymore."

Trunks knelt down to Korin with his bag in his hand, "I believe you have run out of these." Trunks handed Korin the bag. The cats expression stayed the same, but a sense of uplifting surrounded his aura.

"You brought me beans. What for?" Korin asked.

"I need you to grow more. And as I understood you have not been able to in some time. So take some. Grow some. Replenish your stock." Trunks informed.

Korin nodded, "But how did you-"

"I think we need to discuss in private." Trunks looks back at Gohan who was looking around the balcony. "Gohan. Go get us some breakfast. If there's any fish left."

Gohan nodded and leapt off the balcony. "I'll get breakfast. As soon as I deal with the androids."

Gohan took off as quickly as possible to the closest city. Trunks and Korin went to a back room. Each propped up by their respected cane or staff. "Now then. Who are you really? No, no wait. I want to guess. Um… You must be… That's interesting… Vegeta. Vegeta, or someone related to Vegeta was your father. Am I correct."

Trunks smiled and nodded, "I am the son of Vegeta, yes."

"That's interesting. For one born from someone so evil, you seem so at peace. How have you come to be here? Magic?" Korin asked.

"Science. I have come from the future. My mother built the first time machine when I was about 16 years old. From there I traveled to the past to help save it. Long story short I failed. In fact I died." Trunks told, "But from there I witnessed the power of a young boy. A boy who taught me when he was an adult, surpass the strength of even his father to take down this evil that had sprang. After I returned to my time I built my world back to its glory." Trunks continued.

"Interesting. So why come to this time?" Korin asked as he planted the beans.

"I defeated the androids. I gained a new power and I was strong. After my world was built I decided it was time I fully repaid my mentor. So I went back. I saved Gokus life. And I killed the androids before they even existed." Trunks continued, "Over and over, time after time I went back. Every once in a while I would go back to those dimensions of time and check up, but in all my years I never saw the boy who stopped Cell. I never saw that man that trained me. It only occurred to me in these late years that he never was given reason to be that man."

"Ah! So you came back at this point to train the young man to be the warrior this world needs. But I have a question. Why? You could just kill the androids now and let Gohan live his life as the Earths protector." Korin wondered.

"Well… The thing about Saiyans is… Full blooded ones, when not killed on the battlefield, have the uncanny ability to live as long as 400 years old. It's in our genes. The problem is-" Trunks began.

"You're only half." Korin interrupted.

"Yes. And the unfortunate side effect of being human is we may not age as quickly as other humans, but we age faster than Saiyans. The other issue is with full bloods they get stronger the more damage they take, and this is true until the day their hearts give out. While this is true for us as well, we reach a limit before our powers start to erode. My godlike strength is now fading. I'm nearly 150 and it's not getting any easier." Trunks finished.

"I see." Korin said, "But you still seem to have the strength enough to kill the androids. So I ask again… Why not kill the androids?"

"Because it is not my duty anymore. I am here to guide Gohan to destroy this threat. I am here to know that my future is insured. I am here so that the future has a better hero than I. I'm here to make Gohan the warrior he was born to be." Trunks told him, "Speaking of Gohan, it shouldn't take this long to find fish."

Trunks searched for Gohans energy. He frowns, "No! That damn boy!" Trunks got up quickly.

On the other side of the world Gohan was searching for new destruction. He was hunting down the androids. His renewed strength guiding him. His anger driving him. His thirst for battle needed quenching. City after city, after city he searched. Until finally he heard the familiar hum and boom in a distant city.

"Finally!" Gohan flew towards the destruction.

The place was mad. People were running for their lives, and the androids were cruelly slaughtering them. Like a cat who has caught a bunch of baby mice they violently and viciously killed men, women and children.

"This will never get old!" 18 screamed as she blew away a man running for his life.

17 shrugged his shoulders, "I guess. Ooh! That looks like its worth a bunch of points." His attention was on a man, and his teenage daughter. "Let's just mark it up as… 1000 points!"

17 unleashed a bright yellow blast towards the family. In last second fashion Gohan arrived to smash the blast into the ground. The explosion and dust took 18 and 17 by surprise.

The dust quickly vanished as Gohan transformed blowing the dust away. His angry green eyes staring down the two.

"Well, well 18. It looks like our favorite punching bag is feeling better." 17 said.

"And so quickly, so soon." 18 chimed in. "Not that it will matter."

Gohan took a step forward, "Your reign of death and destruction ends today!"

The family behind him began moving again, "Thank you kid! We owe you!" The man said in a gruff and overly loud voice. His daughter looking at Gohan with wonder as they move.

Gohan caught her eye, if only for a second. She was beautiful, even covered in dust and dirt. A thin and quick blast shot by his face and directly hit the man piercing his heart, dropping him dead.

The girl stopped dead in her tracks as she watched her father die. A second blast was shot at her. But not being taken off guard this time Gohan stopped the blast.

"Oh! Are we ready to fight?" 18 taunted.

Gohan shot them with his glare. "It ends now."

Gohan flared his power as he took off towards the androids. His speed slightly increased, and his strength nearly doubled he pushed them back. Grabbing 17, he smashed him into 18, sending them both flying into rubble.

"This bastard! He somehow has gotten stronger!" 18 growled.

"It's his Saiyan blood." 17 stated, "But it matters not. He won't get the drop on us a second time."

They stood up and dusted off. Gohan was preparing another attack. As he flew they prepped their counter. As Gohan got closer the androids dug their heels deeper into the Earth. Flinging his fist at one of them they ducked and planted two very powerful and very painful fists into his gut. This knocked the breath out of Gohan as he flew and skidded back.

Before he could land on his feet he was jumped by the two of them. They attacked high, and they attacked low. Gohan could barely keep up. He was tripped by 17 and smashed into the ground by 18.

Then like nothing changed he was close to being defeated again. He knew he couldn't give up. There was too much at stake. He tried fighting back, but they pounded into him harder and harder.

Until suddenly there was no more pain. The sounds of battle were still around, but the pain was nowhere to be on him. He opened his eyes. The mysterious old man was now even more mysterious as he was single handedly taking on the androids and in Super Saiyan form no less. He dodged 18 and 17's fists as if they were nothing. Then pulling out his cane he pressed a button and in front of Gohans eyes a sword appeared.

17 was nearly decapitated as Trunks swung his sword, and in continuing his movement kicked 17 through a pile of rubble before swiping at 18 and doing the same to her.

Trunks looked at Gohan and yelled, "MOVE! WE NEED TO LEAVE!" He put his sword away and flew off. Gohan started to do the same, but looked back to the girl, whose tears left a trail on the dirt on her face.

Gohan looked at Trunks who looked angry and anxious to get out of there. Gohan looked at the sad girl and in a quick motion swooped down and grabbed her before quickly taking off following Trunks.

They flew silently for quite a while before Trunks landed in a cleared plain area. Gohan landed behind him and put the now sleeping girl on the ground. He got up and turned to Trunks who planted a heavy punch in his face sending him flying.

Gohan recovered slowly. "What the Hell were you thinking! You stupid boy!" Trunks stormed over to him.

Gohan wiped the blood from his mouth, "I'm sorry I just…"

"You just what! You think that because you got a senzu that you were immediately going to beat the androids! How well did that work for you! You're lucky I got there in time!" Trunks was absolutely livid.

"Trunkten… I'm sorry… I-" Gohan tried apologizing.

"You cannot die! This world needs a hero, and by God it will be the son of Goku!" Trunks yelled at him. He took a moment to calm down. He brushed his silver hair back and straightened up, "Now… Who's the girl?"

I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well.


	3. Breathe

Chapter 3

Gohan and Trunks had moved away from the mystery girl. She was still asleep. The two locked in a tense conversation. And that was more of Trunks quietly yelling at Gohan.

"And another thing-" Trunks was in the middle of saying.

Gohan raised his hand, "OK listen. I understand my mistake, I'll accept the consequence, and everything. But I think after the last 46 minutes and 39 seconds I've gotten the point."

Trunks was livid. Looking at Gohan he took in a deep breath and brushed his fingers through his hair, "Gohan… OK fine. I'll let it go. For now let's figure out what to do with her."

Gohan looked back at the girl, "What do you mean? She stays."

"Excuse me?" Trunks asked feeling his blood boil.

"She stays. We can't just drop her off at the closest orphanage. I don't know if you might've noticed, but the cities are all but vaporized. Which they might even be soon anyways. If she stays with us, she'll be safe. Trust me. Right now…" He looks at the ground and bites his bottom lip. He clears his throat, "Right now she doesn't need to be alone."

Gohans mood sombers. Trunks could feel it. "Alright. She'll just have to train with us. The Androids are now on the defensive. My intrusion has made them uncomfortable, and they will now be calling us out." Trunks turns around to Gohan, "Now listen to me, and listen to me closely… The androids are going to kill people. It is not an easy thing to accept, but you must channel whatever you feel into your training."

Gohan nodded. "When do we start?"

"After breakfast. Now go get some fish. There was a river somewhere about three miles back. You should run. It'll be good training." Trunks pointed with his cane the direction Gohan should go.

Gohan lifted himself in the air to his feet. "OK, but I have a condition."

Trunks laughed, "Oh?"

"You have yet to explain your Saiyan heritage. I did wonder how you knew how to defeat the androids, until that display today… Who are you Trunkten?" Gohan asked.

Trunks walked over to Gohan and placed his hands on his shoulder, "I tell you what. When you can take me down, I'll tell you what you want to know. But for now, go get food. I'll watch the girl."

Gohan huffed out a sigh, but nodded his head and took off into the edge of the woods. Trunks turned to the girl and walked closer to her. "I hope you'll be that push he needs."

Trunks hobbled on past her and reached inside his armor as he pulled out a capsule. He tossed it and it exploded into a small domed house. He walked to the door and pressed a button. A small robot came out of the side. "Bring the girl inside and put her on the couch. Gently."

The robot saluted and clicked and whistled as it moved over to the girl, slowly picking her up and putting her inside. Trunks sat on the outside of the house leaned against it. He closed his eyes and just sat listening and feeling the breeze. '_The breeze feels good. I wonder how mother and me are doing? It was strange not to see them at the Corps."_

What felt like an hour went by and soon Gohan was walking up with a few large fish. He was a bit thrown off by the house until he saw Trunks, "Hey. Old man. I got food."

Trunks leaned forward and blinked, letting his eyes adjust. "Good." He floated to his feet. "Now lets get them over a fire. I'll handle that much. Why don't you go inside and check on our guest. She should be awake by now." Trunks informed as he walked towards a tree. His cane in blade mode.

Gohan nodded and walked inside. The house was plenty spacious. There were two beds, a bathroom and a couch with an entertainment area. "I can't remember the last time I was even remotely close to being this comfortable." Gohan said to himself as he looked for the girl.

He found her. She was awake, but she was curled up and quiet as she looked out of the window. Even from her profile Gohan could see her sadness. Her face may have been stoic and stone, but even that couldn't hide the tears that cleaned her dirt-ridden face.

Gohan didn't know how to approach this, so he cleared his throat, "Um… Hi there."

She looked at him, "Hello."

"Um, is there anything I can do for you? Drink of water? We're gonna cook up some fish if you'd like." Gohan offered, unsure of what he should do.

She shook her head, "I'm not hungry."

There was a uncomfortable silence between them. Gohan decided to break it, "Well if you need anything, just let us know." He turned to leave, "Before I go… What's your name?"

The girl looked at him, "Videl. Videl Satan."

Gohan gave her a smile, "I'm Son Gohan." He walked over to her and offered his hand, "It's nice to meet you."

She took his hand, surprised at how gentle he shook, "It's nice to meet you too."

Gohan continued smiling before he felt awkward and turned to leave. As he left Videl felt a slight smile attack the corners of her mouth. But then the events that transpired earlier came into her head and the smile was wiped away. A tear fell from her face and she wiped it away.

She looked at her hand and could see the dirt and blood that covered it. She wiped it on her shirt, but realized that was dirty too. The door opened again, and Gohan was back, "Also, feel free to help yourself to anything. Food, shower, tv… Whatever. Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes. So… Yeah." And with that he left.

Videl slowly got up from her spot and walked over to the bathroom. She entered it and was astounded by what she saw. The bathroom was clean. The tub was large, and the shower seemed to come from the ceiling instead of a spout. She turned the knob that turned the water on. She runs her hand under the hot water and flinches from it.

She turns the water to a comfortable temperature and closes the door. Gohan and Trunks were outside cooking the fish over the wood Trunks chopped down. "How old are you Gohan?" Trunks blatantly asked.

Gohan looked at him strangely, "Um… I'm 15. Why?"

Trunks looked at Gohan with a smirk, "I think you know why I'd ask."

"Um… No. Can't say I do." Gohan replied. Trunks looked back at the house. Gohan followed his gaze. Then it hit him, "Whoa! Hold on now… What are you thinking?"

"I just need to know you'll keep your primal urges in check." Trunks said as he chuckled.

"My prima- What about you old man! You're at risk as much as I am." Gohan spat back.

"I'm old. I've had my chances in life, and those chances provided me with five children. Besides… I'm not a pedophile. I'm just making sure you're not going to peek at her in inappropriate ways." Trunks informed.

Gohan looked offended, "Do I look like I'm going to rush over to that window and peek inside to see if she's undressed?"

Trunks began laughing, "That was pretty detailed. Had it already occurred to you?"

Gohan was caught off guard and speechless. "I.. I… Shut up."

Trunks continued laughing as he cooked. "Gohan." His voice with a seriousness, "After this we need to start training. Now I don't know if the girl will be ready, but you must be prepared for it."

Gohan nodded, "I plan for a beating every six weeks, just to earn a little strength. I can play for a day or two of straight pain."

Trunks chuckled a deep chuckle, "Only a day or two. Oh no child. Weeks. Months. Maybe even a year will go by before you will be completely ready."

Gohan looked incredibly serious, "I do not have a year! I doubt this planet has a year! Trunkten I need to be ready as soon as possible!"

Trunks stood over Gohan, "Then that depends on you. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get stronger?"

Gohan stood to meet his gaze, "Yes."

"Good." Trunks nodded. "Now I meant to ask this earlier, but what happened to the former residents of that building we stayed in last night?"

Gohan's expression saddened, "I don't know. They got out of the city and live somewhere. I don't know. I rarely see them. I rarely see my own mother for that fact."

Trunks breathed a sigh of relief, '_Good. They're alive.'_

They finished the cooking in silence and when it was done they ate heartily and sat outside, "So you have kids?" Gohan asked.

"Huh? Oh yes. Five of them. Three boys, and two girls. And about 16 grandchildren. Last I heard I had my first great grandchild on the way." Trunks informed.

"Interesting." Gohan inquired, "And where are they at?" Gohan asked.

"Not here." Trunks smartly replied.

Gohan huffed, "Well obviously. But where?"

Trunks laid back on the grass, "All in due time. I think you should offer our new lady friend some food. "

Gohan looked back to the house. A now cleaned Videl walked out in long bathrobes timidly. Gohan got off the ground, "Would you like some fish?" Gohan asked.

Videl not sure what to say nodded. Gohan turned to the fish and cut it with his hand. He walked over to Videl with the fish and when he got close enough to her, he realized how hard life was going to be for him.

Videl was beautiful. She had an ivory skin, with ebony hair and the most beautiful eyes. Gohan was stunned. Videl kind of blushed, "Um. Thank you."

Gohan realized he hadn't released the food, "Oh… Well. You're welcome." He released the fish with a nervous chuckle. "You can come sit with us. If you like, that is."

"I'd love to. I could use some company." Videl said.

Gohan moved slightly to the side and lead the way.

So this chapter has been finished for the last few days now, but I've been extremely lazy. I hope you guys enjoy.


	4. Tears

Chapter 4

Android 17 was on a rampage. Picking city by city apart. 18 was right behind him, but in the sense that she did not want to be in his path. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" 17 screamed as he chucked a very large piece of destroyed bridge across the destroyed city.

"Calm down 17." 18 said, "You're gonna ruin what's left of our playground if you continue."

17 flew at his sister and smashed her into the ground, "I could give a damn less about that! Were you not there?! Did you get so hard that you forgot what happened!?"

18 maneuvered herself out from under 17 and flipped their roles. "I was there! I know exactly what happened! A hiccup! One that will not happen again!"

17 in a rage kicked her off of him, and pinned her down again, "That's not the point!" He got off of her, "We were taken off guard by Gohan, but recovered. That was not the issue… The issue was that old man… That old man looked oddly familiar. His hair, his eyes, his demeanor… Who or what was he? A Saiyan? No… Gohan is the only Saiyan left." 17 continued on a confused and maniacal rant with himself.

18 looked at her brother with a new sense she never thought she would… Fear. She for once in her life was afraid. It was if that old man changed her brother completely when he stopped them in combat. She grew angry. This was not her brother and she swore revenge on the man who did this to him.

"Come sister! We have things to do." 17 said as he leapt into the sky and took off. 18 looked at his direction and followed, unsure of what the next thing was.

Gohan, Videl and Trunks were finished eating and cleaning up. "Gohan I want you to finish cleaning. I need to talk with Videl for a moment." Gohan nodded and continued. Videl walked with Trunks towards the house. "Videl, are you much of a fighter?"

"My father was a champion martial artist before the androids destroyed everything. He trained me for many years before that." Videl answered.

"Good. I know this is a sore subject for you, but how do you feel about your fathers death?" Trunks asked.

Videl looked up at him harshly, "How do I feel? I feel sad. Destroyed. Angry! I feel… useless… Because I can't do anything to stop it from happening again." Videl said with a strong tone of sadness. She fought back tears, not wanting to show weakness.

Trunks placed his hands on her shoulders, "There is something you can do to help stop this if you would like."

Videl looked at him like he was crazy, "What? How? I'm not like you or Gohan."

Trunks smiled, "But I can train you to be."

Videls eyes lightened, "Really? You can make me like you?"

Trunks chuckled, "Well not exactly, but I can help you to attain power and strength like you've never known. I am here to train Gohan, but he has taken a liking to you, and thinks you would be safer here than out in the world. If you would like the opportunity to strike back, then you are welcome to join us." Trunks concluded.

Videl looked over at Gohan, who was covering up the smoke and wood. She kind of blushed at the thought of Gohan liking her. She looked at Trunks, "Yes. I would like to join you."

Trunks smiled, "Good! It's settled. Gohan! Come here!" Trunks called to Gohan.

Gohan walked over, "What's up?"

"Videl will be joining us and will be training with us." Trunks informed.

Gohan looked at her with a smile, "Glad to have you."

"Now… Before we get started, Gohan I have thought up a task for you." Trunks stated.

"Yes?" Gohan asked, almost afraid.

"Train Videl how to use her energy to fly." Trunks said.

Gohan looked at Trunks, "But-"

"No buts. You can handle it. Don't go far now." Trunks said as he went inside the house.

Gohan knew that there was no winning this battle. He turned to Videl who was just as unprepared for those words as Gohan was. They had a moment of silence between them that was beginning to be awkward.

"So… Let's get started." Gohan said clapping his hands together as he walked passed Videl.

"OK. So what exactly are we going to be doing?" Videl asked.

"Good question." Gohan replied under his breath.

"What was that?" Videl asked.

"Oh, um well first… First…" He was looking around the area, "Take a seat." He said as he dropped to the ground. Videl followed suit. "Good, now Videl. What do you know about energy?"

"What kind of energy?" Videl asked.

"Your body's energy." Gohan replied.

"Oh… Well not much, I guess." Videl said trying to think.

"That's alright. So, your body is capable of much more than just running and jumping. Mentally there are barriers that can be broken to allow you full control of your body and its abilities." Gohan began.

"Like flying and that strange beam of light?" She asked.

Gohan nodded, "Exactly. Those types of abilities come from your own energy, but they are focused. They are harnessed and released through your own will. Understand?" Gohan continued.

"No. This is all very confusing to me." Videl replied sounding a little frustrated.

Gohan inhaled and exhaled, "OK let's try this… So you know how anyone can throw a punch but it takes training to do any damage with?" Videl nodded, "Ok same principle. You're taking that same energy that you are channeling through your punch and exerting it through your body. Watch."

Gohan began floating upwards, "You see this is what a little amount of energy can do." Then he takes off quickly to the sky, and then comes back down, "And that was what releasing your energy can do."

Videl nodded, "OK, so how can I do that?"

"Sit in a relaxed position. Put your hands in a cupped form. Now feel inside of you. Close your eyes and search for that bright and penetrating light. Do you see it?" Gohan asked.

She huffed, "No. I only see the back of my eyelids."

Gohan chuckled, "That's your first look. Focus more. I'll stay quiet, but meditate. Find that light, and when you do, try to control it to your hand. Give it a path to follow." Gohan then hushed up.

Videl inhaled and exhaled deeply. She closed her eyes and began meditating. Everything was hushed around her. There was no noise outside of the natural sounds around them. Gohan watched her intently.

Videl was deep in her thoughts, '_This is stupid. All this talk about inner lights and phooey… I bet they all just use some kind of trick and they're just playing with me. Jerks.'_ Then like a stream of warm water rolling down her back something warm and embracing was calling to her. She searched for this thing calling to her.

Then as if the sun itself were her conscience, the light Gohan was talking abour. '_Wow… Is this it?'_ Videl thought. She felt it growing closer to her. She reached for it. She felt its embrace, and like a burst of flame it came out of her.

Videl opened her eyes to see a glowing orb flowing out of the palm of her hands. She was exhilarated. She looked over at Gohan, and her exhilaration went quickly away. Gohan had fallen asleep. This frustrated her immensely. After all his hyped up talk, and now he's asleep. She wanted to throw the ball at him.

And that's what she did. Without even realizing it, Videl had chucked her energy at Gohan, knocking him over and waking him up. He immediately jumped to defense and transformed. His green eyes showing his rage and anger, while his golden hair and form overpowered her. Gohan realized that he was in no danger and reverted back.

"I'm sorry. I… Didn't mean to…" Gohan was trying to find the words to calm this beauty before him, who was painted with fear because of this reaction, "What I mean to say is, I don't sleep well. And I don't like being caught of guard. Sorry…" Gohan felt awful.

Videl shook it off, but knew now to be wary of Gohan. "It's OK… Um, I did it."

Gohan sat back down, "I know." He said through a nervous laugh. "Now that you've done it once, do it again, but this time hold it." Videl nodded and like it was nothing, formed another one. "Good. Thankfully that didn't take 3 hours."

Videl was stunned enough to lose focus, "Three hours?! That took three hours!?"

Gohan nodded, "Yep. But that's ok. No one picks it up that quickly."

"But three hours! I don't even know how that was possible!" Videl exclaimed, "I mean I wasn't asleep."

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, but meditating can be just peaceful enough that time can fly by just as quickly. But let's concentrate on the now. Pull the energy out of you again."

Videl wanted to say more, but closed her mouth and focused. Another hour or so went by and Videl was sweating and lightly panting.

"Why… Am I… Out of breath?" Videl asked.

"Because contrary to how easy I make it look, your energy, your ki, is still your body's energy. You use the same amount of energy there that it takes to run several miles. Obviously you're not tired from that, but you're feeling its effects." Gohan informed her. Then a loud grumbling and roaring sound came from Gohan. "Um… It also makes you extremely hungry…" Videl fought back a laugh. And failed. She started laughing at him uncontrollably, "It's not that funny." Gohan said with a reddened face.

Videl couldn't respond cause she was laughing to much. Then her stomach growled just as loudly as his. This caused Gohan to laugh at her. Her face redder than his. "Shut up! It's not funny!"

Gohan was in tears, and Videl was not having it. She didn't like being laughed at, so she attacked Gohan. Of course being the way he was, Gohan dodged it and flipped over her.

"You'll have to be quicker than that!" Gohan teased.

Videl balled her fists, "You're such a prick!" She stomped over a threw a punch in his face. Gohan took it and smiled as she reeled back. "God! What is your face made of?!"

Gohan chuckled, "A lot stronger stuff. Come on, let's go see what Trunkten has to eat. And we'll fix your hand up."

Gohan led Videl into the domed house. Trunks was asleep in a chair. He looked rather content and happy. Like he was having a good dream. Gohan walked over to him and placed his hand on Trunks' shoulder, "Hey. Old man. Wake up!"

Trunks blinked his eyes, and yawned. "So. Did she do it?" Gohan stepped aside to let Videl show Trunks. Videl held her palm up and produced a small light. Trunks nodded his head, "Good job. Now make it larger."

Videl looked at him oddly, "Excuse me?"

"Make it larger. Like so." Trunks imitated her ball and then increased its size.

Videl was nervous, but nodded and focused. She gritted her teeth and put all she had into her ball, only for it to very slightly increase and then vanish. She dropped to the ground out of breath, "I can't… It's too much… I'm gonna die."

Trunks laughed, "Good. The closer you are to death the more you'll fight to survive. Judging by the look in both of your eyes, you're hungry. So we'll break for dinner."

Gohan raised an eyebrow, "We'll? I do believe that you were asleep while Videl and I were preparing her."

"Um, you were sleeping too, Mr. Hypocrite!" Vide butted in.

Gohan grew a cheeky grin, "Well yeah, but I had to teach you to do things."

Trunks stepped in between them, "OK ok. Settle down. We have many days and months of training to go through. If we are consistently arguing. Come. Sit with me and we'll get dinner going." Trunks hit a button and out came popped two small robots that immediately flew into the kitchen of the house to make the dinner.

Gohan, Videl and Trunks in the meantime sat down at the dining room table. Over the next few hours the three warmed up fully to each other. Videl seemed less angry, Gohan was less stressed, and Trunks wasn't the secretive old sage he came off to be. He opened up a little more. He spoke of his children and grand children.

Gohan however was still uncertain of this old man. The story was too fantastic for his liking, and finally spoke out. "Trunkten. I have to ask you… You speak of these events, with your unnamed children, and it sounds like peace. But yet… Where is this peace? When did this peace happen? What happened to your children? You old man still continue to confuse me with every story."

Trunks chuckled, "You know the deal. The moment you take me down, is the moment you get full answers and non hollowed explanations." Trunks took a sip of his cup, "But… It is late. Tomorrow we move into the mountains. So get some sleep. Especially you, Videl. You're going to need it." Trunks got up from his spot and walked across the room to a door and went to bed.

Gohan and Videl were left alone. "I don't know why you're so nosy. I liked his old stories. You can tell he's proud of his children."

Gohan chuckled, "Of course he is. He's a Saiyan. Full of pride and arrogance."

"What exactly is that? A Saiyan?" Videl asked with much curiosity.

Gohan sighed and sat back in his seat, "Because it's such a long story I'll give you the abridged version. Saiyans are a warrior race of aliens. They were a brash and arrogant group of people. Except my father. Who was the only Saiyan that fought for something other than himself."

Videl had her head tilted, "Um… wait… So are you an alien?"

"Yes." Gohan answered, "Well, technically half. But that blood makes me have incredible strength and power."

Videl scoffed and shook her head, "So what the hell am I doing here? I'm not some alien. I don't have special blood. I'm a human. I'm practically useless to you."

Gohan leaned in closer to her, "Let me tell you about the strength of humans Videl. Some of my best friends in the world were humans and they were some of the most powerful people in the world. Never discount your strength just because you're not like other people. If I kept comparing myself to my dead father, I'd have died by now. I don't because I there's too much at stake. I have to be stronger. I have to fight harder than the androids. This must be your life now. Would you rather dwell on the fact that your father died because you're a weak human? Or do you want to become the strongest you can to prevent other little girls from losing their father?"

Gohans harsh words stung Videl. She was hurt, "How dare you. It hasn't been even a full day."

Gohan looked down and exhaled, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be vicious. You must understand, this world isn't the world we grew up in. It's colder. It's harsher. The time for being children is over." Gohan gets up from the table, "There is only one other room it seems. I'll sleep on the couch."

Gohan walked to the couch and laid down. Videl fought back tears as she made her way to the room. She got in and closed the door. Gohan was still awake and almost felt bad. He shook it off and went to sleep.

Videl slid down the door and covered her mouth as she cried softly.

Sorry y'all. I know it took forever and a day. Plus a week but here is the next chapter.


End file.
